Australia is taking the lead in the electric car race with their plans to build a huge charging network. A group of companies is raising 1 Billion dollars to build the network of electric vehicle charging stations. The plan calls for up to 250,000 charging points in each of the 3 largest cites: Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. They plan to power the system with renewable energy to maximize the green benefits of plug in vehicles.

The plan is expected to be completed in 2012 and will include 150 “switch” stations in each city. These stations will be located various public locations, and will allow batteries to be switched out automatically in facilities similar to car washes.